The experience of the adjudication process has been described to me by one intrepid person as batting without pads on a damp and overcast Sunday afternoon – you don't quite know what is going to happen, how long you will last, whether or not you will get hurt or quite how you will be treated by the umpire if he has left his glasses at home.
There are likely to be few organisations within the construction industry who are not now aware of adjudication. Statutory adjudication came into force on the 1st May 1998 under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 ("the Construction Act"). For the good or the bad of it, the industry has had to adapt itself to a speedy form of dispute resolution where an adjudicator is to arrive at a decision within 28 days (which can be extended in limited circumstances). The decision is binding until such time as the dispute is finally determined by litigation, arbitration or agreement.
